Bib and Utensil Kit with Tether Retention for Toddler Meals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Toddlers and individuals with limited dexterity face challenges in preventing eating utensils from falling or moving beyond their reach during meals.
Innovation Solution
A bib and utensil kit that includes a bib with a protective surface and a basin, eating utensils with a working end and a retention end, and a tether that releasably couples the utensil to the bib, using retention termini that can be compressed and manipulated through apertures to secure the tether and utensil in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tether is used to couple the utensil to the bib, then the utensil is prevented from falling beyond reach, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The kit is divided into separate functional components: a bib with aperture, a tether with retention terminus, and a utensil with retention aperture. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while maintaining overall system simplicity and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The retention terminus of the tether is inserted through the aperture of the bib and the retention aperture of the utensil, creating a nested arrangement where the tether is contained within the apertures of both components. This nesting provides secure retention without requiring additional complex fastening mechanisms.
2Reliability
If the retention terminus diameter is greater than the aperture diameter, then the tether is securely retained, but the ease of operation decreases due to compression and manipulation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The retention terminus is designed with dynamic properties that allow it to be compressed and manipulated during insertion, then expand or lock into place within the aperture. This dynamic behavior enables easy insertion followed by secure retention, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
In some implementations, a kit includes a bib having a protective surface and a bib-coupling point; at least one eating utensil having a working end and a retention end, where the retention end includes a utensil-coupling point; and a tether having a first anchor end having a first coupling point that is configured to releasably couple to the bib-coupling point and a second anchor end having a second coupling point that is configured to releasably couple to the utensil-coupling point.